Syria enters fifth year of conflict

(VOVworld) – The Syrian conflict, which began as an uprising to protest the administration of President Bashar al-Assad, has entered its fifth year.

A man tries runs carrying a baby as war-torn Syria enters its fifth year of conflict.
(Photo: Reuters)

The UK-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced on Sunday that at least 215,000 people have died in the horrific four-year civil war, more than 66,000 of the victims were civilians. However, Observatory Director Rami Abdel Rahman said the figures are almost certainly incomplete because of the large number of missing people whose fate is unknown. About 4 million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries.
On March 15th 2011, anti-government protesters in Syria took to the streets, inspired by similar revolts in Egypt and Tunisia as part of the Arab Spring.